


You're my Lifeline

by greenfelix (literallyepsilon)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, hey pls play that game its so good orz, lifeline!au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-11 05:44:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11142141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literallyepsilon/pseuds/greenfelix
Summary: Ushijima finds a mysterious looking device in his attic, and proceeds to play what seems to be a simple and easy to play game -- but before he knows it, the main character starts to grow on him, and, well. You know what they say.





	1. the beginning

**Author's Note:**

> hello !! this is your lovely felix here. i wrote this because i was inspired by this incredible game called [lifeline](http://www.bigfishgames.com/daily/3mingames/lifeline/) which was my obsession long ago. i adore lifeline and i definitely recommend checking out the games!!
> 
> i hope you enjoy this sporadically updating ushioi fic!!

It was a breezy Saturday, and Ushijima was moving into his new home. The sun raged against his back as he helped the moving company move his furniture and belongings into the empty home. He’d spent the three weeks prior to this saying all his goodbyes, packing up, and spending his last day at the animal shelter he occasionally helped out at. He would find another one here to volunteer at, of course -- Ushijma was nothing if not passionate about animals.

His university wasn’t too far, as well. It was logical and strategical to move to this home, despite it being further away from his friends. He set down the last box, brushing the sweat from his bow, and thanked the moving company with a rigid bow. As he closed the door, he saw the sun dip behind a cloud, and sighed slightly, before turning back to unpack. 

As he was unpacking materials in the kitchen, his phone buzzed to life, and Ushijima picked it up.

**tendou:** hey hey hey   
**tendou:** did you move in safely?   
**ushi:** yes tendou i have moved in   
**tendou:** great!!!!!!!!!! we miss you already :(   
**ushi:** i miss you guys too   
**tendou:** :((( come visit us soon wakawaka-chan   
**tendou:** it’s lonely orz   
**ushi:** i will make time  
**tendou:** u better!!!!!!   
**tendou:** ok ill leave u to unpacking and stuff. thats what ur doing right   
**ushi:** yes, tendou

Ushijima chuckled, setting his phone down, and looked out the kitchen windows, watching as the sun continued to be blocked out by the coming clouds. A storm was on its way -- that never boded well, for anything. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Ushijima continued to furnish his kitchen, carefully pushing the fridge into its place, and sighed, leaning against the counter. He picked up his phone, sending off a text quickly. 

**ushi:** you’re around here right   
**iwaizumi:** yeah, i live nearby   
**iwaizumi:** why?   
**ushi:** i   
**ushi:** i dont want to lift the bed up the stairs alone   
**iwaizumi:** …..   
**iwaizumi:** i’m on my way

God, Iwaizumi was a lifesaver. They’d used to be rivals back in high school, but ever since they’d started attending the same school, Ushijima and Iwaizumi had easily bonded, especially through volleyball. Ushijima was incredibly proud to call Iwaizumi his friend. Moments later, Iwaizumi had arrived at his house, and was currently considering their situation.

“Couldn’t you have asked the movers to do this?” Iwaizumi asked, and Ushijima felt a slight flush cross his face. “You forgot, didn’t you?”  
“I...didn’t really think about it.” Ushijima admitted, and Iwaizumi sighed, slapping his shoulder.   
“Come on. Let’s lift this thing before we get any older.” he said, smile on his face. 

The trip upstairs was incredibly taxing -- they lifted it up the stairs, and into the master bedroom, where they eventually managed to push it against the wall in a way that Ushijima found aesthetically pleasing, while Iwaizumi complained (slightly) about Ushijima’s perfectionism.

“Ushijima, I’m going to kill you.” Iwaizumi said, once they were relaxed on the floor. Ushijima watched him, and hummed slightly. “Seriously. I’ve never had a work out like that in my life.”  
“Then...I’m a pretty good work out buddy?” Ushijima asked, and Iwaizumi smacked him gently, before nodding.  
“Yeah. You really are.” 

After seeing Iwaizumi to the door, and lending him his umbrella, Ushijima returned to unpacking his belongings, putting his clothes into the cupboards where it should be, arranged neatly by colour -- something he never did often, but figured was a good tip to use. Now it was easier to get ready for school.

“The rain’s not letting up,” he said to himself, thunder shattering through the almost silence of the new home. There were many more things he had to unpack, but this would do for the day. He was exhausted, too, and could do with some food and some rest. 

Or, at least, so he thought. 

The first noise was around one in the morning, precisely eight minutes after Ushijima had settled himself for sleep. Confused, he sat up, and when he heard nothing, he lay back down, eyes settled on the ceiling. He must have been hearing things. 

“ _Hey!_ ” the noise sounded again. “ _Is anyone there?_ ” 

That sounded real. Ushijima quickly sat up again, moving out of bed to find the source of the noise. Oddly, this was very much like the horror movie he was watching before bed. Was this some odd lucid dream relating to that? 

He pinched his skin, and let out a yelp. 

“ _Hello? Anyone there?"_  

Ushijima looked around - the sound was above him, but he had no clue how to get up there. He squinted up at the ceiling, before locating a cord -- for the lights, he’d assumed, but no house was that old fashioned. He tugged it, and a ladder fell down from the ceiling, making an ungodly loud noise.

In the distance, a dog began to bark. 

Ushijima made his way up the ladder, feeling about for a light switch, bracing himself for a human presence -- only to find nothing.

“Who's there?” he asked, looking wildly around, before he hears the voice again.  
“ _Hello? Anyone here? Please, please, work…_ ”  

He walks over to the source, an odd looking device in the bottom of a box. It must have been left behind by the previous owners. Ushijima turns the device around, searching for an off button.

“ _ Please, _ ” the voice on the device begs. “ _ I need help, if anyone is listening… _ ”

The front of the device has a screen that's flickering, showing the face of a man, who looks similar in age to him. Below his shaking face, two options shine bright in the night.  

**[Hello?]** or  **[Who is this?]**

Ushijima goes with the latter.  

“ _Oh, God! Thank God, I was so -- I was so worried. Fuck. Um -- My name is Oikawa Tooru. I...I need your help._ ”  
**[What’s wrong?]  
** “ _I just -- I'm in the middle of a fucking ocean._ ”  
**[What can you see around you?]**  

Holy shit, Ushijima had been woken up by a fucking game. He was exhausted. He didn't need this shit. He turned the device around to search for a mute button, only to find none. A loud sigh left his throat, only to turn the device back to the front again. Oikawa had turned the camera from his face to the outside.

“ _ It's...it’s just sea… _ ”  
**[Row in one direction?]  
** “ _ I’ve been doing that, and it's just...I’m exhausted.” _

“He's pretty whiny,” Ushijima said, rubbing his eyes. 

**[Keep rowing.]  
** “ __If you say so...which way should I go?”  
**[Right.]  
** “ _Okay, then I'm on it. I’ll check back with you if anything happens._ ”  
“ __...What's your name? ” 

A keyboard slid out, and Ushijima quirked a brow. This was a pretty intuitive game. The whole keyboard thing was  _ really _ cool.

**[Ushijima]  
** “ _Okay! I’ll check back with you then, Ushijima._ ”  
_[Oikawa is rowing.]_  

Ushijima set the game device down, a yawn leaving his throat. He was exhausted, but he felt like he was getting invested in the game. He didn't want to leave the boy alone, not really, but  _ god _ , he needed some sleep. Standing carefully, he shut the lights off, and trudged downstairs, yawning again as he climbed down the ladder, game in hand, and went back to his room. 

He felt like he blacked out three seconds later. He didn't even remember getting into bed. 

Around 8 am, the game lit up.  

“ _ Ushijima, holy shit! I found an island! _ ”


	2. the first

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which ushijima has other friends, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I TOTALLY FORGOT TO SET THIS DOWN AS MULTICHAPTER IM SO SORRY. UH HERES ANOTHER CHAPTER. 
> 
> i'll get to rip hinata shouyou soon as well!! as for now i hope u like this chapter

“I've been playing this game,” Ushijima said as he walked to class with Iwaizumi. Said game was tucked into his bag, in the side pocket. Iwaizumi looked over at him, tilting his head to the side.   
“I never thought you'd be the type to play games.” he said, and Ushijima sighed, pulling the game from his pocket to show him the history of their conversation. He'd learned recently that the game allows you to refer to the previous history -- for future decisions, he supposed. 

Iwaizumi took the game, just as curious.

**[I told you!]  
** _"_ _ Yeah, yeah. You were right, Ushijima.” _

“It knows your name?” Iwaizumi asked, raising an eyebrow.  
“It asked for it.” Ushijima replied.  
“Intuitive. It looks good.” 

**[What’s on the island?]  
** _“It’s huge. I don’t know if I can give a good description of it.”  
_ _"But, uh. There’s a forest, and what looks to be some kind of clearing in the distance.”  
_ _“The forest seems...teeming with life, but I don’t know if I really want to go in there…”  
_ _“The clearing looks pretty safe, though, but you know what they say.”  
_ _“What do you think? The clearing or the forest?”_  
 **[The clearing sounds good.]** **  
** _“I know. Who knows whether this island has any scary monster things. What if I run into a monster, Ushijima?”_ _  
_ _“I’m a young guy! I don’t wanna die.”_  
 **[Don’t be ridiculous.]** **  
** _“You’re awful, you know! Awful! You’re the worst.”_ _  
_ _“Anyway, I need some time to get to this clearing. I’ll talk to you soon, Ushijima!”_ _  
_ __[Oikawa is walking.]  

“So, what? What do you do now?” Iwaizumi handed the device back to Ushijima, who kept it safely.   
“We just wait. Oikawa’s doing something.”   
“Really? You’re willing to wait around for the game to respond to you?”   
“Is that bad?”

Iwaizumi gave him an incredulous look, and Ushijima blinked at him, confused. After a few moments, Iwaizumi snorted, slapping the other’s back as people started to walk off to class. Confused, Ushijima watched as Iwaizumi walked off, before running to catch up with him, wanting to know what he meant.

* * *

_ “I made it to the clearing!” _

Oikawa returned at some point during lunch, and Ushijima had the game out in a flash, putting it on the table in front of him. Iwaizumi laughed, but scooted over to see as well, now almost just as invested as Ushijima was. 

“What are you two nerds doing?” another familiar voice asked, as he dropped his tray onto the table in front of him.  
“Shhh,” Ushijima replied, unable to hear exactly what Oikawa was saying.  
“Hey, Kuroo.” Iwaizumi said, and Kuroo grinned.  
“Hey babe. What’s Ushiwaka doing?”  
“Playing games. There’s a cute boy on the screen.”  
“No one’s cuter than you.”  
“Fuck off.”  
“Guys, shhh.” Ushijima said again. 

_“It’s kind of chilly out here. That, and I’m also pretty soaked from being out at sea.”_ _  
_ _“It’s still daylight, though! And while the clearing is a blessing, I’m not sure I want to be out here in the sun.”_ _  
_ _“Anyway.”_ _  
_ _“There’s  not much here. There’s a lot of grass, but there’s no sign of life anywhere.”_ _  
_ _“I mean, there aren’t any fruits or anything. At least not recognisable ones.”_ _  
_ _“And there’s no meat! I just want to eat meat.”_  
 **[Let’s focus on surviving first.]** **  
** _“You’re right, but I just want to eat meat so bad…”_ _  
_ _“Why was I cursed to be on a stupid island with_ **** _no meat_ __.”  

“A bit whiny, huh.” Kuroo said, and Iwaizumi snorted. 

_“I know, I know. I’ll shut up about meat for now.”_ _  
_ _“So, uh. Now what? There’s a pretty nice place to set up camp, I guess? If I’m going to be here for a while I should probably focus on that.”_ _  
_ _“Or something. I was a Boy Scout when I was younger, you know.”_ _  
_ **[Really?]** **  
** _“...”_ _  
_ __“No.”  

“Holy fucking shit, I’m in love.” Iwaizumi said, and Kuroo quickly moved to Ushijima’s side to read as well.   
“You better not be stealing my boyfriend from me, video game character.” Kuroo hissed. “I worked hard to get this boyfriend.”   
“I distinctly remember Iwaizumi having to fight you off when you were drunk,” Ushijima said, not looking up from the game. “He said something about ‘not wanting to date someone who couldn’t hold their liquor’.”   
“That’s what I mean! I worked hard to get this boyfriend!”   
“You still can’t hold your liquor, Tetsu.” Iwaizumi chimed in.   
“But you’re dating me anyway.”   
“Shh, he’s talking again.”

_“What do you think? Should I start up with my shelter or go see if I can find some food?”_ _  
_ **[You want to have a roof over your head, don’t you?]** **  
** _“Good point. I’m on it, then. I’ll let you know if I find anything interesting.”_ _  
_ __[Oikawa is searching (and complaining about how he was never a Scout}]  

“Hey, fill me in. What the heck kind of game is this?” Kuroo asked, and Ushijima began to explain. 

After a few minutes of explaining about the discovery of the game, and how Ushijima began playing it, Kuroo was sufficiently caught up with the situation of the game. Oikawa had remained blissfully quiet throughout all of it, which almost always made Ushijima nervous. When he was in his previous school, Tendou used to recommend dating sims to him, which he would play, and ultimately fail. 

He didn’t really know why, but he didn’t want to fail Oikawa.

“Earth to Ushijima, hello?” Kuroo asked, and Ushijima snapped to attention. “When you’re done, can I play a round?”   
“It doesn’t work like that,” Ushijima said. “At least...I don’t think so.”   
“But I can definitely make some choices, right?”   
“I won’t stop you, but try not to make wrong choices.”   
“Kenma says I’m really good at games.”   
“No, I don’t.” Kenma said as he passed by, hands in his pockets. “What are you guys doing?”   
“Ushijima found a game in his attic and we’ve been watching him play it.” Iwaizumi said, handing Kenma the console. “Here. Did you ever learn the name of the game?”   
“Lifeline,” Kenma said, before Ushijima had even opened his mouth. “I know this game.”   
“Really? You know this game?” Ushijima was watching Kenma, interested. “Have you won?”   
“...Yeah.” And just like that, Kenma had walked off, hands in his pockets.   
“Wait, Kenma!” another voice cheered, and Hinata came running by, stopping only to give Ushijima a cheeky wink before catching up with the other.   
“You know,” Kuroo began as they walked off, “I have no idea where Hinata is from.”   
“I think he’s a good influence, wherever he’s from.” Ushijima replied, turning back to the game. 

* * *

It was 3pm when Ushijima’s phone lit up, and for a few moments, Ushijima confused it for the game, only to find that Tendou was texting him. 

**tendou:** hey wakatoshi!!!! how are u settling in   
**ushijima:** good thank you   
**ushijima:** i found a game in the attic and i started playing it   
**tendou:** you just found a game in the attic???? yo it could belong to someone else   
**ushijima:** but this is my house   
**tendou:** i mean ur right   
**tendou:** but like it probbaly belonged to someone else b4 lol   
**tendou:** whats it called???   
**ushijima:** lifeline apparently   
**ushijima:** do you remember kenma?   
**tendou:** ye   
**tendou:** wait hes the pudding head boy on your snapchat right   
**ushijima:** how did you get my snapchat?   
**tendou:** ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)   
**ushijima:** (｀_´)ゞ   
**ushijima:** he said he played the game before and he won so ill try and win too first   
**tendou:** sounds fun   
**tendou:** i havent heard of the game before though   
**tendou:** but helllll yeah ushiwakas doing soemthing other than being all good   
**ushijima:** i have no idea what that means   
**tendou:** u spend like all your time at the volunteer pet shop its cool youre doing other things even if its games lol   
**ushijima:** i need to find a new pet shelter to volunteer at, thanks for reminding me   
**tendou:** AH I FUCKED UP   
**tendou:** lol   
**tendou:** anyway we miss u wakatoshi dont get too involved in your game and forget abt us lol   
**tendou:** texxt u again tomorrow!   
**ushijima:** looking forward to it.

_ “Ushijima, you there?” _ __   
_ “I found some wood to make shelter with. It’s getting pretty dark, though.” _ __   
_ “...It’s incredible out here.” _ __   
_ “The moon has sort of started to come out, and in the clearing, the trees are pretty far away, so I can pretty much see the whole sky.” _ __   
_ “It’s....God.” _ __   
_ “It’s gorgeous.” _ __   
_ “Did you know I wanted to be an astronaut, Ushijima? I wanted to see the stars up close and personal. See whether aliens were real.” _ __   
_ “I wanted to watch the Sun. I wanted to look at the world from above, you know, where like everything below me would be like ants, and I would be like...a deity.” _ __   
_ “Or something.” _ __   
_ “I don’t know why I’m telling you my life story. I got distracted by the view. Anyway.” _ __   
_ “What do you think? Should I use up the wood I found for firewood or for a shelter for the night?” _ __   
**[Do the shelter.]** ****  
_ “I’m on it, then. I don’t really want to be caught in any coming rains...I’m cold enough as it is.” _ _   
_ __ [Oikawa is building.]

As Ushijima fell asleep that night, the game lit up again.

_ “It’s…so cold…” _ __   
_ “...I can’t...feel my legs…” _ __   
__ “...c...old…”  
_ “...wish you...wish you could see…” _ __   
_ “Wish  _ **_I_ ** _ coul d see..” _ _   
_ __ “...so cold…”

_[ connection lost ]_  

And that was the first time Oikawa Tooru died.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact i had to google 'lifeline death' to figure out what happened when the characters died


End file.
